Mage in Equestria: Live For The Swarm part 1

The air smells of dust and parchment.

Before you lies a large runic sigil.

This was revolutionary work you were doing.

Bending the very fabric of space and time had you studying for years, shutting yourself away from the majority of society.

Of course, magic didn't exist, oh no, that would be silly.

In your world ruled by science and fact, nobody would believe you if you told them you could levitate objects with your mind.

They'd likely think you were a few french fries short of a happy meal.

Well, you were but that was besides the point.

Magi, such as yourself, tended to lay low and carry out your ways in secrecy.

Interference was not ideal. This often meant sneaking around at night, visiting those silly occult shops downtown, even making purchases with shady folks in and around abandoned buildings in the slums.

You swore that butcher you got the lamb's blood from was serving up more than just choice animal meats, though you were not one to pry in such affairs.

Said blood is now contained in large marble bowl on the table next to your rune.

The candles that dimly lit your library cast dancing shadows flickering around you.

Even in the modern age which you lived.

You preferred the old fashioned ways, what with candles for light and quills to write.

With the final stroke of your brush, you gazed down at your beloved circle drawn upon the wooden floor. Everything was ready to go.

You reach out with your mind and picture the tome you're to follow for the spell.

A deep purple glow envelopes the book and brings it to your hand, where it turns to your desired page.

The writings of the Mad Arab litter the papers in a long forgotten tongue.

It took some extensive research to learn Aklo, and you were quite proud with your knowledge.

With your spellbook in hand, you take your place in the circle, both feet in their respective places.

Tonight is the night you will finally stand before the Elder Gods.

The words still don't quite roll off your tongue with any sort of ease.

Your mouth is incapable of perfect pronunciation as it lacks the proper articulation, but you can only come close and hope it works.

"Yll'Tegoth Glaaki N'thyleii Mhhg'Gthaa!"

You channel energy through your body and beam it towards the foci on your circle.

"Chn'ghft lloig ph'shagg!"

The small orbs of energy floating above the foci give off bolts of purple lightning.

The air around you begins to twist and turn as you are pulled away from reality to the Realm of Dreams. You're finally nearing your goal of infinite knowledge and universal power.

You will finally become a god.

With a final blast of energy, your world goes black and you drift through nonexistence.

 

A harsh dry heat brings you back to consciousness.

You can feel the sun beaming its oppressive light upon you.

The first thought that enters your head was why you were laying face down in sand.

The second question was whether or not Nyarlathotep showed favor to you.

You lift your face from the dune you found yourself to have awoken upon and spit out a good amount of sand. Coming to rest on your knees, you survey the land around you.

A desert. Fantastic.

This was not the realm of infinite knowledge you expected to find yourself in.

In fact, this was the last sort of place you would wish to end up in.

You obviously fucked up the spell.

Seeing as how there was no obvious sign of civilization in any direction, you lay back down on your back in the sand.

Yet another wizard ends up dead from a teleportation spell gone wrong. How shocking.

Well, if you're going to die, you're at least going to die as comfortably as possible.

Wearing black in such conditions was not favorable in the least and you strip of your robes down to nothing but your pants.

Your discarded clothing will make a nice pillow as you drift off to your inevitable slumber.

You bury your bare feet in the sand and close your eyes, accepting defeat.

 

Your wait for death is interrupted by a vibrating sound.

The sound of insects? If so, it must be a pretty large bug to make such a loud noise.

You open your eyes and are greeted by a swarm of black creatures circling around you like a spiraling twister.

You were in no condition to try to defend yourself as the heat has dehydrated you.

All you could do was simply lay there and hope the monstrous bugs had some sort of anesthetic poison to inject you with before they devoured you.

You close your eyes and once again pass out, awaiting your demise.

 

Ah, consciousness once again. Of nothing would just hurry up and end you, that would be too easy.

At least you were no longer in the desert and the heat.

In fact, you felt quite comfortable in the cool environment you were in.

Then you noticed you weren't breathing air and a thick fluid flowed in and out of your throat.

You open your eyes and see only green.

In a panic, you begin thrashing about, trying to find a nonexistent surface to swim to before you drown.

In your struggles, you find yourself pressing against a membranous wall.

On the other side, you can just barely make out a small cavern, clear of any obvious threats.

Time to escape. You claw at the membrane with your fingers and eventually begin to tear through it.

The green gel you were suspended in spills out of the pod you were in.

You spill out with it.

You fall about a foot and land face down once again, only this time on a hard stone floor.

Now on your hands and knees, you cough up all the slime from inside your body.

After a sufficient amount of coughing and gagging, you find yourself well enough to stand up.

You were still as clothed as you were before your obvious abduction, though much more damp and slimy.

You slick your hair back out of your face so you can look around.

You're quite alarmed at what you see.

 

Several green pods, much like the one you just escaped from, lined the walls of the cavern you were in.

The green glow from them supplied just enough illumination so you could see where you were going.

Inside the pods were... horses?

Small equine figures suspended in what you guessed was the same fluid you were.

On shaky legs, you walk to the one nearest to you.

Gazing inside, you could see it was still alive and breathing.

The small horse seemed as though it was in but a peaceful slumber.

You take a few steps back and try to get a grip on whatever reality you're in.

After a failed spell, you found yourself in a desert, you were taken away by giant black insects and awoke in a cocoon.

Oh, and you weren't eaten.

You suppose things could be worse.

You could have awoken to your leg being chewed off by a giant spider or something.

Well, you suppose it's about time to try to find a way out of the cave before anything notices you're missing.

The green glow from the pods isn't quite enough though as you can't see a way out.

Only darkness and shadows where the light doesn't reach.

Luckily, you can make your own light.

You channel energy though your arm and gather it in your palm, creating a brilliant purple light.

Satisfied with your creation, you turn your attention to the now illuminated cave and all the bright blue eyes beaming down at you among the stalactites on the ceiling.

You think perhaps you were better off in the dark, not having woken up the creatures.

They swarm around you and your artificial light like moths.

The thunderous buzzing of their wings fills what was otherwise a silent cave.

In the maelstrom of black, you're knocked to your back.

Never having been in any sort of combat situation before, you fearfully hold your light in front of you, hoping it would scare them off.

Expecting to be eaten, you instead find your arms and legs pinned down to the rugged stone floor.

Your light was extinguished with the lack of concentration.

You were left in the dark with only the feint green bio-luminescence again.

You hear footsteps over the shifting insects on top of you.

You still can't quite get a good look at them.

Make that two sets of footsteps?

The scene from Starship Troopers comes to mind as you're expecting to have your brains sucked from your skull.

Once again, you hope for at least some sort of anesthetic poison BEFORE your untimely demise.

You crane your head towards the direction of the approaching beings.

Still can't see anything in the dark.

>"Well, well, aren't you the peculiar one?"

A female voice washes over you, bringing you to a level of ease.

You were still scared shitless though, just less when you found another human being speaking to you.

The bugs release your limbs as the floor seems to shift beneath you.

You're brought to face her.

You look down to find that it was not the floor moving, but a green magic glow has encompassed you and seems to be holding you up.

It feels warm, like your clothes were brought fresh out of a dryer.

>"Can't say I've ever seen an ape without any hair before."

She giggles and steps closer to you.

You find that what you thought was a pair of footsteps was from but one being.

Another creature of equine form.

This one however, was far different than the ones in the pods.

This one was much more slender and a sleek black.

The glow from the cocoons accentuated her curves, casting ever so feint light on her body.

You notice the insectoid dragonfly wings on her back.

>"Can you speak ape?"

She brings a hoof to your chin, turning your head and inspecting your features.

Her hoof is riddled with holes as though they were drilled out of her leg.

You manage to muster up a decent enough composure to reply to her.

"Yes, I am capable of speech, though I prefer not to be related to a lowly monkey."

She brings her head closer into view, her cat-like eyes wide with curiosity.

>"If you're not a monkey, then just what are you?"

That question brings you to the knowledge that this is definitely not your world.

You're not even anywhere close.

Perhaps even a different reality.

You're not in Kansas anymore when a bug horse is holding a conversation with you.

"I am a human being, thank you. My turn to ask now, what are you?"

Your curiosity is beginning to spark.

You've met a new form of sentient life!

Gross buggy insect sentient life that looks like a horse.

You interrogator straightens her posture in an attempt to seem more powerful and intimidating.

>"I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings. You'd also be wise to show some respect to your savior human."

Any fear and worry you experience have since passed.

She saved you from the desert and has no obvious plans to eat you.

"Oh, yes, I suppose I should thank you for the shelter you've provided. Pardon though if I seem ungrateful for the slime bath I was given."

A smile spreads across her lips revealing her fangs.

The glow from her horn, as jagged and riddled with holes as her legs, dissipates as you're released from the air.

You land unsteadily on your feet.

>"Yes, I think I'll keep you human. Entertainment is rare in the wastes."

Keep you? Wonderful, now the things thinks you're it's slave.

This is not ideal in any way, shelter or not.

You then remember how outnumbered you are.

Trying to put the though of slavery in the back of your mind, you have noticed how cold you are now the green aura is gone from you.

You're still damp with slime and the cold air in the cave put you in violent shivers.

"I don't suppose the clothing I was resting upon in the sands was rescued as well?"

Her horn lights up again and you see your belongings lit up in the same aura near your ruptured pod.

They float through the air and come to rest in front of you.

In the sweep of light, you were able to get a better look at the insect creatures.

You found they were not as insectoid as you though and looked like the small horses in the cocoons.

They shared their queen's black coat and wings, even the holes in their legs.

You decide they aren't really bugs as you notice they only have 4.

Thankful of your clothing, you don your tunic and robes and pull them snug around you.

You slip into your boots as well.

Satisfied with being dressed again, you turn your attention back the Chrysalis.

She was watching your every move with feline curiosity.

You knew your sense of fashion was a bit out of date, but it wasn't that bad.

You suppose the creatures just didn't have any need for clothing and found it alien.

Well, you WERE an alien.

You speak up again, startling her a little.

"Is there any water? I'd like to get this taste out of my mouth."

she steps back a bit and motions for you to follow her.

Her stride puts yours to shame.

Every graceful step she makes shows power and poise, while yours are still shaky and unsteady.

You're led through a tunnel lit with more green lights.

Small sacks of green gel stick to the walls giving off just enough light to see.

As you follow the Queen, you cant help but notice her tail.

It was a beautiful shade of sea green, same as her mane.

Her hair was very uneven at the end, appearing to be broken up by holes like her limbs.

As much as you would like to bombard her with questions, you decide against speaking for the moment.

Your throat was still quite sore.

After your short walk, you come to a much larger cavern.

A stalactite coated in those small green bubbles casts more of the green light upon the large pool of water before you.

You can hear a series of dripping noises followed by ripples in the spring.

As you kneel down and take a few gracious drinks from the water, your host speaks to you.

>"You may drink from here, though I know not what to do to feed you. What do you eat? I can't let my new toy starve, can I?"

Her voice seems to wrap around you, gathering you in a loving embrace.

It gave her a sense of safety and longing for her.

You can't help but feel as though you should devote yourself to her.

Wait, something isn't right.

These emotions are not natural.

You break from the trance you were in and come back to your senses.

The creature before you was an obvious predator.

She was attempting to charm her prey into a sense of security and safety.

How she got into your head was beyond your knowledge, though you're sure you wont let it happen again.

Back to her question, you take your surroundings into regard.

Surely there must be some sort of fungi or reptile that would suffice.

You come to realize you still have no clue where you are or what sort of creatures inhabit this place, other than the horses.

You also then remember the ones in the pods.

Were they rescued as you were? Were they intended for food?

Were you to be a meal before you woke up?

"What other creatures are there?"

She lets out a sigh, annoyed with how broad your question is.

>"There are many, the majority of which are ponies."

Ponies? Is that what they call those small horse things?

How ridiculously cute.

>"Before you ask, you may not eat the ones you saw earlier."

Oh. Well, there goes that idea.

She seems to be a few steps ahead of you.

You put some more though into what you could possibly do for food until you remember your studies in transmutation.

You could probably turn a rock into something to eat.

The only problem with that is how excited you are with your new surroundings and how curious you are with the world you're now in.

You have a vast number of questions, all of which Chrysalis does not have the patience to answer.

You suppose it is wise to make your magic known.

"I think I will be able to feed myself. I can try to turn some rocks or such into something edible."

>"And just how do you think you will do that?"

You levitate a small stone to your hand with your purple aura.

"Magic."

She smiles, delighted with this new information.

>"Oh good, so you're not useless."

Perhaps showing off your talents was not the best of ideas.

You expect to be ordered to work for her.

You detest the idea of digging ditches for these things.

Breaking from the swirling thoughts in your head, you notice she's gotten closer to you.

>"How do you do your magic?"

Unbeknownst to you, she knew almost exactly how you do it.

Perhaps she is more interested in your talents themselves rather than what you can do with them?

You hope so, manual labor is not your cup of tea.

You explain to her how your magic stems from focusing your emotions towards a goal.

Attempting to keep it as short as possible for her, you tell her of your years of study and practice.

>"You mentioned you do magic through emotion?"

She's now close enough to your face that her breath can be felt.

Was she... salivating?

You obviously piqued her interests.

"Um, yes, I did."

You take a few steps back, fear returning to you as you gaze into her hungry eyes.

>"You and I will get along just perfectly, I can tell already."